Here again just a small update. Next week I will have more time to work on the X-Wing, but this here has to do is for now. I started to assamble the weapon system. To make everything fit right, I included a small hole in the middel of the parts. That way, I could insert a metal rod and push all the parts together. Now the different sections are perfectly centered while the glue was drying. I assembled everything, until I got 3 bigger parts for each weapon. They will be glued together after the paint job, cause that way I still can make some changes and include more detailes. Now, I will close the gaps wit some filler and start sanding again.
The wings will be expand. I have enough space (I hope) for the mechanism and radiator + some fans. They should be placed in the bottom and I am going for maybe one or two smaller fans in the top section. So airflow should be no problem.
For the X-Wing, I not only want to build it as a computer, but also modify the peripherales. Cause, I need to figure somethings out on the X-Wing before, I started with the mouse. First, ofc everything was disassembled The original logo should be replaced, but to create a new centered hole, I had to get rid of the original one. I covered the gaps with some filler, and also sprayed some sprayfiller on top for an even sufrace. Then, I drilled a hole into the mouse. In addition, I made a 3D design of a rebellion symbol and 3dD printed it. The symbol was then fit into the mouse and filled with clear resin. While the resin was curing, I slightly modifyed the lower part of the mouse. I sanded some of the edges were the ligh should shine through to make the rebellion symbol fit in perfectly lateron. After gluing the symbol in, everything was sanded down to the surface of the mouse cover. I already made a small light test. Works out great so far.
Awesome, but what will you do about painting it? Will you mask the logo, or use a color that the light can bleed through?
Starwars X-Wing - Part 9: The Exhaust Finally, after a long time of other projects I had to finish, I am back on working on the X-Wing again. Updates will now come regularly, I hope What I have worked on over the weekend, was the exhaust system of the X-Wing. Had to play around with the scale a bit, but after I was happy with the outcome, I made my final printed version. For a better handling, I seperated the exhaust into 4 different parts. I also made a first test fitting. Later I will include some light effects to the back, to really get the impresion of an actuall X-Wing turbine exhaust. Next up here will be the actuall turbine and wing, but that is still printing. Also some progress was made on the mouse. To match the design, the same detail lines as in the X-Wing were cut in. Now soem edge work is needed and its ready to paint. I am also happy to announce that Viewsonic will support this project with a monitor. I already have a concept in mind so stay tuned for that.
Subbed, just amazing, so many design hours, so many print hours, so many sanding hours, so many gluing hours. To have the patience to do something that will take forever is truly dedication!
After all the exhaust parts were printed, I started with the processing. Some areas had to be processed not only with sand paper, but also by using some needle files. I also filled gaps with milliput and sanded the spots down. Before the next processing step, I needed to include the light system into the exhaust. Therefore, I cut LED stripes to the right lenght and glued them into place. Because it is hard to reach them after assembly, I secured the strips also with hot glue. In addition, two pieces of paper clips were cut and glued to the piece. This will help to glue the exhaust parts together. For a diffuse light comming out of the exhaust, I cut an acrylic disk and sanded the surface of both sides. Then it was glued in place. For the next processing steps, I covered the side facing outwards with some tape. After all parts were glued together, I made a quick test of the light. While Working on the exhaust, two turbines got printed. Next up will be the final step of processing the exhaust and then start with the turbines.
Time is running out, so here we go with another update. This time, I finished the BB-8 unit that will sit at the back of the X-Wing. First, I printed and processed the BB-8 I filled in smaller gaps and coated all with some layers of spray filler. After some wet sanding, one layer of grey primer followed. Next, the first layer of color was applied. I sprayed on some white to give the BB-8 a nice uniform look to begin with. Then, I masked some spots for the first highlights. Orange was dabbed on to give it a more used look and not make it look to perfect. After the orange dried, I applied the silver parts. For more depth, I used a very fine brush and colored all small gaps in black. In addition, some small chipping effects were added. Therefore, I painted some spots black. Then, silver paint was applied. But make sure to leave a thin rim of black to create a 3 dimensional effect. Cause the X-Wing will be painted in a used look, and the BB-8 also has traveled to space a lot, I needed to weather him too. I applied brown and black color on edges to make him look a bit dirty. Now there were only two parts missing. The lights and the lense. For the lense, I used a left over, I casted in resin for another project. It was sanded to fit in the BB-8 and hold by friction. Two blue and one red LED were installed for a little illumination highlight. The entire unit also got a wash with a mixture of black paint and water to dull down the white surfeces a bit more. A servo is already included to make the head move to the left and right.
Thanks! Currently, I am using the standart Sindoh PLA in grey or black. Black tends to give me a bit of a better quality so I maybe stick with it for now.